You like Ilford Photo's film and paper lineup? Do you like their products? Then buy the stuff and use it. That is the surest way to make sure the products you use to make your art stay available. So long as the quality is there, and it continues to be made profitably, does it really matter who the owners of the company are? Kodak stopped Kodachrome, then Ektachrome, because it was no longer profitable for them. Pure and simple.
Here's the thing: We've got one manufacturer of E-6 film in the world (soon to be 2 when Ferrania gets off the ground). Not a lot of choice there - if you want to shoot slide film, you're gonna buy Fuji's stuff, since Ferrania's not off the ground yet. Kodak's color negative films are quite simply da bomb, if your end result is a print. Personally, my end result of choice is a projected slide, so at the moment it's Fuji. When I shoot B&W, though, unless I'm going for an infrared look, I reach for the Ilford. Period. I've tried Tri-X and it just doesn't seem to work for me, but the HP5+, OTOH, well, I like it a lot.
Bottom line: You want Ilford to keep making film, buy their stuff. Money talks, regardless of who the owners are. Show them the money! When you get customer service of the excellent kind that Simon Galley provided as part of Harman/Ilford Photo, well that's the icing on the cake that has earned Ilford a lot of respect around here. I hope Neil, Sue, and David will continue to provide that level of support around here. It will make a lot of people feel better about the new owners, I'm sure.
